A Tesla owner, needing to refuel overnight in their hotel's parking lot, was disappointed to find that all of the electric vehicle charging stations were already occupied … by gas-powered vehicles.
They posted a photo of the frustrating scene on Reddit, adding, "7 of 8 Tesla charging stations … were taken up by non EV's this AM."
Commenters were sympathetic. "EV charging is just a new opportunity for jerks to be jerks," one wrote angrily.
"This looks like a new station," another observed, and "nearly every photo I've seen of this station shows the spots [taken]."
For fellow EV owners, this was an all-too-familiar situation. One commenter shared that, when they were traveling, "people at the chargers at the tourist information would jam the EV plugs between their front grills of their [gas-powered cars]."
From parking in EV spots, like in this example, to vandalizing EV charging stations or physically destroying them, certain people seem to have an unquenchable thirst for making it difficult to charge an electric vehicle.
The same people also often practice coal rolling, where they intentionally blow a toxic black cloud of smoke from their engines in an act of aggression. Most of these practices are aimed at electric car owners, but they've also targeted cyclists, pedestrians, or, in one bizarre case, a whole restaurant.
The reasoning behind this isn't clear, but it's generally viewed as a political statement and backlash against the rising popularity of electric vehicles.
"Towns should have ordinances that prohibit this behavior, and violators should be ticketed and/or towed," said the original poster. "Would be good potential revenue generator for local municipalities and help the EV community as well. Win-win."
While a handful of states and countries have implemented enforceable fines, it's not the norm yet — but EV drivers remain hopeful that this will improve.
Others had more creative ideas: "Gift them all locking gas caps! You rolled up needing to fill up and can't, so why not return the favor!"
These anti-EV actions are particularly frustrating given that electric vehicles are generally cheaper to own and better for the environment.
The transportation sector is responsible for nearly 30% of toxic air pollution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. For this reason, more consumers will need to make the switch to help achieve the pollution-reduction goals of countries around the world.
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